DeLand opts to defend its 131-year-old city seal; Americans United weighs options

Wednesday

Sep 11, 2013 at 8:49 PMSep 11, 2013 at 9:12 PM

By ANTHONY DeFEOanthony.defeo@news-jrnl.com

DELAND — City leaders think DeLand's 131-year-old, cross-embossed city seal is just fine the way it is and they don't plan to change it.That's the sentiment they expressed Sept. 9 to a group that recently sent them a letter asking that the seal no longer be used because it contains a cross and other symbols the group says unconstitutionally promote Christian virtues.If the disagreement leads to a legal battle, DeLand officials said they have great backing from their citizens and potential help from national organizations that support the city keeping its seal.Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to the city on Aug. 23, claiming the city's seal — containing its name, the year of its founding and a cross, anchor and heart imposed on each other — illegally endorsed Christianity.In a response dated Sept. 9, City Attorney Darren Elkind said the seal doesn't promote Christianity. Instead, it can be traced back to the ideals of the city's founder, Henry DeLand, who made a fortune in baking soda in New York and came to Florida at least in part to help others. Minutes from the first City Commission meeting in 1882 show the city decided to create a seal with “the emblems of 'Faith, Hope and Charity.' ”“Most reasonable observers will see the city's seal as standing for the largely secular principals of faith, hope and charity that DeLand was founded upon,” Elkind wrote.Ian Smith, an attorney with Americans United, said the group received the letter Wednesday and is studying its options.“We're going to review it and we're going to decide what to do with it,” he said. “My initial impression is that they have misread a lot of the cases that they're citing and that those cases do not help them as much as they seem to think.”Elkind said the Washington, D.C.-based group, in its original letter, failed to consider several court cases that work in the city's favor, such as Van Orden v. Perry, the most recent Supreme Court case on the issue.The 2005 case said a monument of the Ten Commandments erected on the Texas State Capitol didn't violate the Constitution's establishment clause because when considered in context, it conveyed a historic and social meaning rather than a religious endorsement.“They were a bit disingenuous in the letter they wrote,” Elkind said. “You cannot have an intellectually honest discussion without discussing the cases.”Elkind also pointed out to Americans United that the city has been “flooded with offers of support, legal and financial, from organizations across the country,” if the group chooses to file suit over the matter. One group that offered support is the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm founded by evangelical minister Pat Robertson. The firm's chief counsel, Jay Alan Sekulow, sent a letter dated last week, urging the city to defend the seal and indicating the group's willingness to “discuss how we may be of assistance to the City.”The groups, which also include Liberty Counsel and the Liberty Institute, could help save the city some money, if the issue makes it to the courtroom, Elkind noted. While the controversy has sparked media attention, City Manager Michael Pleus said the feedback he's gotten from residents on the seal has been extremely one-sided.“It's been universally in support of it, with some people adamant that we maintain it,” he said.